


I'm Your Best Friend

by lovewillcomeandfindme



Category: Bandstand - Oberacker/Oberacker & Taylor
Genre: kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 14:03:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15632151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovewillcomeandfindme/pseuds/lovewillcomeandfindme
Summary: Five times Johnny was there for Wayne, and one time Wayne was there for Johnny.





	I'm Your Best Friend

**Author's Note:**

> yo, thanks to elderfisherprice for typing this up, and for my discord buds hyping me up to write this

Johnny pushed past the people in the halls with ease, not taking a moment to care for anyone trying to grab his attention. He couldn’t care less for them at the moment, as someone had thought to inform him of Wayne’s latest incident. As he set his path to the school nurse, Johnny couldn’t hold back his sigh. 

He didn’t understand why people continuously went after Wayne, especially with him and Nick by his side. The man was a nerd, through and through, but he was sweet and kind- yet he was so painfully nervous sometimes. Wayne had definitely improved in the past years, but he was still the perfect target, making the sight of him in the nurse’s office with a black eye more common than Johnny would prefer.

“Wayne, why do we spend every lunch here? The nurse loves us, but eating is fun too.” Johnny made his way to sit next to Wayne, who kept his head down. It must be bad this time. Johnny wrapped an arm around him, hating the sight of his friend so defeated. When the man looked up at him, face bruised and his lip split, Johnny’s heart melted. Good god, Wayne didn’t deserve this fucking shit.

“No one likes a nerd, Johnny.” Wayne gave him a small smile, ignoring the twinge of pain.  
“Well, I love my fucking nerd.”

*~*

Johnny gave up on trying to calm Nick down a while ago. Wayne hadn’t shown up to school or any band events in the last week and he was searching for a reason. So was Johnny, but his search involved less yelling, and instead just going to Wayne’s house. 

So, that’s what he did. After a few minutes of the usual pleasantries with his mother, he was sent up to his room. The house was always alarmingly plain to Johnny, the walls a pristine white, the counters shining, shoes neatly arranged at the front door. The house didn’t feel like a home, as though no one truly lived in it. 

He shook himself from his thoughts, reaching the door and looking at it with some hesitation. Wayne always came to school, no matter what. He had been sick and sat through finals with a fever from hell, so whatever caused this must be horrific. He knocked and immediately heard Wayne shuffling around, before he opened the door looking annoyed. “Mom, I told you I don’t- fuck.”

Johnny felt his jaw drop- along with his stomach- against his will. He could see why Wayne wasn’t in school now. He looked like shit. His cheek had a fading bruise, a blotchy purple yellow mess spreading from his forehead to his cheekbones, and it only seemed to get worse as his eyes went lower. He felt rage building in his heart, but he fought himself for control, nearly losing it as he took in the man’s neck. There were two distinct handprints- large and overbearing, the dent of a ring clearly visible- pressed into his neck and still a deep purple, fading around the edges into a mottled yellow.

“Wayne, what- who did this?”  
His voice was as controlled as it could be- not very. It was a whispered shout, and he forced his way into the room to wait on an answer. As long as he had a say in the matter, not a person alive would hurt Wayne. 

Wayne did not want to answer Johnny. The man was far more rational than Nick, but that didn’t say much as Nick had the restraint of a wild dog. Johnny would want a confrontation with his father, and he knew that wouldn’t end well, so he shook his head and stayed silent. 

Johnny wouldn’t accept that, and the flinch he got for resting his hand on Wayne’s shoulder wasn’t making him feel any better. Suddenly images of the house began to flash through his head- the overly clean house, the eagerness of Wayne’s mother for him to check on him- it clicked.

“I’m gonna kill your father.”

*~*

 

“Wayne, you can’t just start fights now because you’re big enough!” Johnny ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “You don’t know how to fight yet!” Johnny hadn’t known what to think when he saw Wayne punch someone- a guy from the football team, if Johnny was remembering right- and while he was proud, he didn’t think it was smart. 

Johnny knew better than to do anything more than defend himself, and he had hoped Wayne would know enough to follow his example. Of course not. Wayne, as always, seemed to follow Nick’s lead. Nick, of course, patted Wayne on the back and gave him tips “for next time” and Wayne was glowing under the praise. 

Wayne could hardly believe Johnny. He had finally stood up for himself- finally grown up enough to not need Johnny watching his back all the time. He was mad at him. Against his will, he felt himself getting angry as well, and made to leave quickly. He didn’t need this. 

“Just because I don’t need you all the time anymore doesn’t mean you can tell me to stop.” The last thing Wayne saw before he left was Johnny’s hurt face, and he pushed down the guilt, his stomach twisting.

*~*

Johnny felt like he did this too often. He had grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the corner store, feeling more tired than he had been in a long while. He had gotten a call from Wayne as soon as he had gotten home from his gig, and he had run back out to help his friend. 

He couldn’t help but think about how upset the man had sounded. He had heard the man sniffle a few times, and the thought scared him. He rarely saw Wayne cry, and he only cried for big things. 

When he knocked on the door to the small apartment, Wayne answered, his eyes red. He pulled Johnny in and led him to the small couch, where a nearly empty bottle of whiskey was already open. Wayne sat down heavily, looking pitiful.

“Nick left me.” Silence rang through the room at Wayne’s words. Johnny was torn between being shocked and not surprised at all. The two of them had never actually said anything to confirm their relationship, but he had assumed. He also knew Wayne’s parents were pushing him to marry a girl from his church, and he had never been able to deny anything his father told him to do. Nick couldn’t do that. He would want the man to himself and he understood it. He would feel the same way.

Johnny let out a sigh and took a sip of the whiskey, sitting next to Wayne and putting an arm around him. 

“Let it out, bud.”

*~*

Johnny watched Wayne pace with an amused grin. He had spent the last seven months planning everything so that this moment would be perfect. And Johnny had been there every step of the way. From keeping Wayne from driving his wife up the walls with his nerves, to buying any baby book he thought the man could use. Johnny knew that he wasn’t the perfect replacement for Nick, but he and Wayne were still as close as brothers. 

Yet for all his planning, the twins had decided to remind him just how off the rails life could go, and are making their debut a week and a half early. So here Johnny was, a bag with two matching stuffed animals on the floor next to him, watching Wayne try to wear a hole in the floor as his wife was beyond the doors, a nurse checking on them every few minutes. 

Wayne sat down next to Johnny and put his head in his hands. He was terrified. The smallest thing in life he'd had any responsibility over had been when he watched his neighbor's dog for a week, but now he had two children of his own to care for. Two perfect little babies, that he had to protect. He couldn't wait to hold them in his arms, but he needed more time. 

When he heard a cry, a tiny little cry that tore at his heartstrings, he was immediately standing, Johnny right next to him with a hand on his arm. Johnny could feel the nerves radiating off of Wayne, and they stood in silence until a second cry rang out. 

As the nurse came to bring Wayne in, he turned to Johnny and wrapped him in a hug. 

*~*

Wayne walked through the doors to the hospital quickly, looking down at the paper in his hands. It was a letter, from a friend of Johnny's, telling him that he needed to go to see him at the hospital. He had been in an accident, and he was the only one to survive after his Jeep had flipped three times.

Wayne was terrified, not knowing the state his friend would be in. He hated this war more each passing second. Only a month ago he had gotten the news that Nick had been taken prisoner- over a year ago. Now Johnny, his brother in all but blood, had almost died. He had already had one surgery, and they don't know what more had to be done.

He reached the door and couldn't help but stand at the window nervously. He could see the man on the bed. He was paler than he used to be, and still looked more than scratched up. His face was covered in bruises and what looked like some burns. He knew he didn't want to see his back yet, it wouldn't be pretty.

Johnny seemed to still be asleep as he walked into the room, sitting stiffly in the chair beside the bed. God, he hated this. Johnny didn't deserve to be here. He should have gotten hurt, absolutely anyone but the man currently laying in front of him. He had every opportunity for an amazing life once they had gotten back home. An amazing drummer, a genius, and an amazing athlete. Now, he wasn't sure what would happen to the man. 

Johnny was still half asleep, but he could feel the person next to him. He had woken up a few weeks ago, with nearly no memories, the few he did have we're ones he would rather not think about. His entire body hurt since he woke up. His back and legs felt too warm, all the time no matter what the doctors tried.

He didn't like the doctors here. They didn't have any answers, and left him with more questions every day. Always giving him new pills to try, mentioning more surgeries- he hated it. He wanted to go home, but he didn't know where home was.

Johnny opened his eyes and slowly turned his head to look at the man next to him. For some reason he felt a twinge of familiarity, but he didn't have a memory to attach to the man. He felt safe though, for the first time in weeks he let himself relax.

Wayne could feel his heart leap into his throat when Johnny looked at him. There were definitely burn marks on his neck, and he had stitches on his cheek. He saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes, and he felt hope bloom in his chest until-

“Who are you?”

Those three words took the last pieces of Wayne's heart and shattered them. Johnny's voice was raspy, and the pained look on his face as he spoke only made the pain worse. Johnny Simpson, Cleveland’s star athlete, and the best drummer he had ever met, his brother, didn't remember him. He had prepared himself for a lot, but that wasn't something he had even considered.

He noticed Johnny was staring at him intently, and he felt determination settle in. Johnny knew he was familiar, and by God Wayne would be there for him. Johnny wasted so many hours with him, patching him up and keeping him safe. Time to return the favor.

“Well, I'm your best friend, Wayne Wright. And we're gonna get you fixed up so you can go home and play with your godchildren.”


End file.
